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As an artist, you know how important your fans are. However, it can be challenging to collect and own your fan data to measure and understand their impact on your career. As a performer, you probably have several different social media accounts with various followers. You might have signed up for the latest streaming apps so that you can monitor the number of plays. Maybe even created a page on Wikipedia so that you can see what people think about you online. If you’ve done all of this, then good news: You’re well on your way to owning your data. But as a performer, there are other aspects of your career you need to think about. Perhaps some of those Instagram pictures aren’t quite as private as you thought? Now is the time to start thinking about who knows who and where they live because this will help when it comes to collecting and owning your data in the future.
Why does fan data matter?
Social media is a great way to stay in touch with your audience, but it also presents unique challenges to artists who want to protect their privacy. Facebook and Instagram are owned by companies who aren’t exactly known for protecting their users’ data. They make their money by collecting and selling your data. They also have a history of suspending accounts and deleting content that is political or sexual in nature. When you first decide to start building your fan base on social media, you need to be aware that you are potentially “selling” your data. You are surrendering information about your fans, their interaction with your content, and your account settings to these platforms.
How to collect your own fan data
If you want to collect your data and own it, you will need to use multiple apps to connect to your fans. You will also need to create a page for your business. These pages are called “Artists’ Websites”, “Fan Clubs” or “Fansites” and are run by the artist themselves, rather than a third-party platform. You can use the same sites to collect and own your fan data. Instead of using these platforms to push your content out, you will be using their tools to collect and own data from your fans.
Owning your performer data
Collecting and owning your own data will allow you to track key metrics for your business such as the number of people who follow you, their demographics, and even their political affiliation. You can also track the number of times your content has been played, the number of times your posts were liked or shared, and how much your posts were commented on.
Track influencer engagement
If you are releasing new music, are part of a collaboration, or are featured in a podcast, you want to make sure that your fans know about it. You want to engage with your fans and measure how successful these engagements were. How often were your posts liked? How many comments were posted? How many new fans did your posts bring in? When it comes to engagement, Instagram is often more effective than Facebook. It’s also less likely to be seen by people who aren’t your fans.
Conclusion
Social media is all about the data. The more you know about your fans and their habits, the easier it is to create new ways to engage them. As a performer, you are in control of the data you collect. You can decide which data is shared, where it’s collected, and even how it’s protected. When you take ownership of your data, you can create a more personalized experience for your fans. You also get to decide what happens to the data once it’s collected.